Foreword Michael Wood xi
1 Plato Today, by R.H.S. Crossman, Spectator (1959) 3
2 English Philosophy since 1900, by G. J. Warnock, Philosophy (1959) 5
3 Thought and Action, by Stuart Hampshire, Encounter (1960) 8
4 The Theological Appearance of the Church of England: An External View, Prism (1960) 17
5 The Four Loves, by C. S. Lewis, Spectator (1960) 24
6 Discourse on Method, by René Descartes, translated by Arthur Wollaston, Spectator (1960) 26
7 The Individual Reason: L'esprit laïc, BBC Radio 3 talk, Listener (1961) 28
8 What Is Existentialism? BBC World Service talk broadcast in Vietnamese (1962) 35
9 Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, by Jean-Paul Sartre, translated by Philip Mairet, Spectator (1962) 38
10 Sense and Sensibilia, by J. L. Austin, reconstructed by G. J. Warnock; Philosophical Papers, edited by J. O. Urmson and G. J. Warnock, Oxford Magazine (1962) 40
11 The Concept of a Person, by A. J. Ayer, New Statesman (1963) 45
12 Two Faces of Science, BBC Radio 3 talk in the series Personal View, Listener (1963) 48
13 The English Moralists, by Basil Willey, New York Review of Books (1965) 52
14 Universities: Protest, Reform and Revolution, Lecture in celebration of the foundation of Birkbeck College (1968) 55
15 Has 'God' a Meaning? Question (1968) 70
16 Russell and Moore: The Analytical Heritage, by A. J. Ayer (1971) 75
17 Immanuel Kant, by Lucien Goldmann, Cambridge Review (1972) 77
18 A Theory of Justice, by John Rawls, Spectator (1972) 82
19 Beyond Freedom and Dignity, by B. F. Skinner, Observer (1972) 87
20 What Computers Can't Do: A Critique of Artificial Reason, by Hubert L. Dreyfus, New York Review of Books (1973) 90
21 Wisdom: Twelve Essays, edited by Renford Bambrough, Times Literary Supplement (1974) 101
22 The Socialist Idea, edited by Stuart Hampshire and L. Kolakowski, Observer (1975) 104
23 Anarchy, State, and Utopia, by Robert Nozick, Political Philosophy (1975) 107
24 The Ethics of Fetal Research, by Paul Ramsey, Times LiterarySupplement (1975) 115
25 The Moral View of Politics, BBC Radio 3 talk in the series Current Trends in Philosophy, Listener (1976) 119
26 The Life of Bertrand Russell, by Ronald W. Clark; The Tamarisk Tree: My Quest for Liberty and Love, by Dora Russell; My Father Bertrand Russell, by Katharine Tait; Bertrand Russell, by A. J. Ayer, New York Review of Books (1976) 125
27 Reflections on Language, by Noam Chomsky; On Noam Chomsky: Critical Essays, edited by Gilbert Harman, New York Review of Books (1976) 133
28 The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins, New Scientist (1976) 140
29 The Fire and the Sun: Why Plato Banished the Artists, by Iris Murdoch, New Statesman (1977) 142
30 The Logic of Abortion, BBC Radio 3 talk, Listener (1977) 146
31 On Thinking, by Gilbert Ryle, edited by Konstantin Kolenda, London Review of Books (1979) 152
32 Rubbish Theory, by Michael Thompson, London Review of Books (1980) 157
33 Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, by Sissela Bok, Political Quarterly (1980) 161
34 Logic and Society and Ulysses and the Sirens, by Jon Elster, London Review of Books (1980) 165
35 The Culture of Narcissism, by Christopher Lasch; Nihilism and Culture, by Johan Goudsblom, London Review of Books (1980) 169
36 Religion and Public Doctrine in England, by Maurice Cowling, London Review of Books (1981) 173
37 Nietzsche on Tragedy, by M. S. Silk and J. P. Stern; Nietzsche: A Critical Life, by Ronald Hayman; Nietzsche, vol. 1, The Will to Power as Art, by Martin Heidegger, translated by David Farrell Krell, London Review of Books (1981) 179
38 After Virtue: A Study in Moral Theory, by Alasdair MacIntyre, Sunday Times (1981) 184
39 Philosophical Explanations, by Robert Nozick, New York Review of Books (1982) 187
40 The Miracle of Theism: Arguments for and against the Existence of God, by J. L. Mackie, Times Literary Supplement (1983) 197
41 Offensive Literature: Decensorship in Britain, 1960-1982, by John Sutherland, London Review of Books (1983) 200
42 Consequences of Pragmatism (Essays 1972-1980), by Richard Rorty, New York Review of Books (1983) 204
43 The Collected Papers of Bertrand Russell, vol. I, Cambridge Essays 1888-99, edited by Kenneth Blackwell and others, Observer (1984) 216
44 Reasons and Persons, by Derek Parfit, London Review of Books (1984) 218
45 Wickedness: A Philosophical Essay, by Mary Midgley, Observer (1984) 224
46 Secrets: On the Ethics of Concealment and Revelation, by Sissela Bok; The Secrets File: The Case for Freedom of Information in Britain Today, edited by Des Wilson, foreword by David Steel, London Review of Books (1984) 226
47 Choice and Consequence, by Thomas C. Schelling, Economics and Philosophy (1985) 231
48 Privacy: Studies in Social and Cultural History, by Barrington Moore, Jr., New York Review of Books (1985) 236
49 Ordinary Vices, by Judith Shklar; Immorality, by Ronald Milo, London Review of Books (1985) 241
50 The Right to Know: The Inside Story of the Belgrano Affair, by Clive Ponting; The Price of Freedom, by Judith Cook, Times Literary Supplement (1985) 246
51 Taking Sides: The Education of a Militant Mind, by Michael Harrington, New York Times Book Review (1986) 252
52 A Matter of Principle, by Ronald Dworkin (1986) 256
53 The View from Nowhere, by Thomas Nagel, London Review of Books (1986) 261
54 What Hope for the Humanities? Times Educational Supplement (1987) (edited version of the Raymond Priestley Lecture [1986]) 267
55 The Society of Mind, by Marvin Minsky, New York Review of Books (1987) 274
56 Whose Justice? Which Rationality? by Alasdair MacIntyre, London Review of Books (1989) 283
57 Intellectuals, by Paul Johnson, New York Review of Books (1989) 288
58 Contingency, Irony and Solidarity, by Richard Rorty, London Review of Books (1989) 295
59 Sources of the Self: The Making of the Modern Identity, by Charles Taylor, New York Review of Books (1990) 301
60 The Need to Be Sceptical, Times Literary Supplement (1990) 311
61 The Saturated Self: Dilemmas of Identity in Contemporary Life, by Kenneth J. Gergen, New York Times Book Review (1991) 318
62 Realism with a Human Face, by Hilary Putnam, London Review of Books (1991) 320
63 Political Liberalism, by John Rawls, London Review of Books (1993) 326
64 Inequality Reexamined, by Amartya Sen, London Review of Books (1993) 332
65 The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, by Martha Nussbaum, London Review of Books (1994) 339
66 Only Words, by Catharine MacKinnon, London Review of Books (1994) 345
67 The Limits of Interpretation, by Umberto Eco; Interpretation and Overinterpretation, by Umberto Eco, with Richard Rorty, Jonathan Culler, and Christine Brooke-Rose, edited by Stefan Collini; Six Walks in the Fictional Woods, by Umberto Eco; Apocalypse Postponed, by Umberto Eco, translated and edited by Robert Lumley; Misreadings, by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver; How to Travel with a Salmon & Other Essays, by Umberto Eco, translated by William Weaver, New York Review of Books (1995) 352
68 On Hating and Despising Philosophy, London Review of Books (1996) 363
69 The Last Word, by Thomas Nagel, New York Review of Books (1998) 371
70 Wagner and the Transcendence of Politics, New York Review of Books (2000) 388
71 Why Philosophy Needs History, London Review of Books (2002) 405
Acknowledgments 413
Acknowledgments to Copyright Holders 414
Index 415

The first collection of popular reviews and essays from distinguished philosopher Bernard Williams
Bernard Williams was one of the most important philosophers of the past fifty years, but he was also a distinguished critic and essayist with an elegant style and a rare ability to communicate complex ideas to a wide public. This is the first collection of Williams's popular essays and reviews. Williams writes about a broad range of subjects, from philosophy to science, the humanities, economics, feminism, and pornography.
Included are reviews of major books such as John Rawls's Theory of Justice, Richard Rorty's Consequences of Pragmatism, and Martha Nussbaum's Therapy of Desire. But many of these essays extend beyond philosophy, providing an intellectual tour through the past half century, from C. S. Lewis to Noam Chomsky. No matter the subject, readers see a first-class mind grappling with landmark books in "real time," before critical consensus had formed and ossified.

Bernard Williams held Chairs of Moral Philosophy at Cambridge, Berkeley, and Oxford. He died in 2003.